5 Best College Movies Of All Time

By Elana Goodwin on January 17, 2016

This article is brought to you by Kaplan, the leader in test prep for over 90 standardized tests, including the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, and MCAT.

Before you ever stepped foot on a college campus, you probably had some idea of what to expect thanks to the many college movies out there.

Of course, I’m sure there were many differences between the college experience you saw in films versus reality, but some flicks actually do a pretty good job of portraying college life.

And so, here are five of the best college movies of all time.

Pitch Perfect.” This hilarious and musical college movie follows Barden University freshman Beca, who joins The Barden Bellas, an all-female a cappella group on campus. She soon finds herself immersed in the competitive world of college a cappella and needs to work together with her fellow group members to try to beat their rival all-male group, The Treblemakers.

If you’re in college, you know collegiate a cappella is a real thing and that people take it super seriously. But even if you’re not musically minded, college is a time when you find and make connections with people who have similar interests to you, via clubs, classes, and other activities, and those connections can last a lifetime.

The aca-awesome movie stars Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp and Rebel Wilson and will have you singing long after the last credits have rolled.

Good Will Hunting.” This classic college movie came out in 1997 and went on to win two Oscars. Written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, the story follows M.I.T janitor Will Hunting who happens to be gifted at mathematics but needs help from a psychologist to unlock his potential.

After going to college, you realize how realistic parts of this movie are — take, for instance, how smart Will is. He was mostly self-educated and that’s something you’ll learn in college — the fact that knowledge can come from anywhere and learning doesn’t always happen in a classroom. Also, college is WAY overpriced.

If you haven’t already seen this amazing drama, you’ve got to watch it pronto — it’ll make it onto your list of favorites after you see it just once; plus, you’ll walk away with some awesome one-liners. The film stars Matt Damon, Robin Williams and Ben Affleck.

The Social Network.” This biographical drama won three Oscars and follows Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg as he creates the social networking site that would become Facebook. He’s later sued by two brothers who are fellow Harvard students that claim he stole their idea, as well as a co-founder he forced out of the business venture.

The film is really interesting and provides viewers with the story behind Facebook, and since Zuckerberg was a college student when he started programming the site, the movie makes it onto this list of college movies to see.

Of course, while you may not go on to create a multi-billion dollar business, college is a great place to take initiative and make connections, like Zuckerberg did. The film stars Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield,  and Justin Timberlake.

Accepted.” The movie follows a slacker high school senior who, when he doesn’t get into any of the colleges he applied to, makes up his own university, called South Harmon Institute of Technology, and actually creates a physical school with his friends on a rundown property close to where they live and unknowingly start something of an educational revolution.

This is a great college movie that will have you wanting to join the masses at this fictional university, and even though the idea’s a bit far-fetched, the movie’s got some realistic components and lessons you can learn from.

Firstly, that true friendship is creating a fake college together. Secondly, that no matter how old you get, high school never really ends in a sense. Lastly, it’s important to figure out what you’re passionate about, study it, and if possible, find a way to make it your major, minor, or just a big part of your education. The comedy stars Justin Long, Jonah Hill and Blake Lively.

Legally Blonde.” This well-known Golden Globe-nominated romantic comedy is a quintessential college movie. After Elle Woods is dumped by her boyfriend, she decides to follow him to law school to get him back. Elle gets into Harvard and sets out to recapture her beau, along the way realizing that she’s got a true passion for the law and won’t let anyone stand in her way.

College is a time to be selfish — to study when and what you want, to focus on yourself, to uncover where your true passion lies; don’t let members of the opposite sex distract you from reaching your full potential and excelling, as Elle Woods learns. The movie stars Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson and Selma Blair.

So with winter settling in and the weather being cold, next time you have a movie night or feel like kicking back and watching a flick, consider watching one of the five best college movies of all time — you may find that they’re more relatable and realistic than you’d think!

Photo Credit: Pixabay

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